


What a Beautiful Mess This Is

by sleepingtodream



Category: EXO (Band)
Genre: Comedy, Fluff, M/M, Slice of Life, Smut
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-02-20
Updated: 2021-02-21
Packaged: 2021-03-16 19:41:18
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 2,430
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29581116
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sleepingtodream/pseuds/sleepingtodream
Summary: Do Kyungsoo hires a cleaning service for his mess of an apartment. He expects a middle-aged cleaning lady, he gets Kim Jongin instead.
Kudos: 4





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Hi~ i'm Tina & this is my first ever fic for exo/kaisoo. First posted in AFF, now im posting it here on AO3.
> 
> I'm a huge Jason Mraz fan (shed tears at his concert lol) & that's where i got the title from :D
> 
> Like i said, this here is my first ever exo fic so do go easy on me :)
> 
> Btw, the whole set up of this fic was written like a sitcom, hence the scene transitions right smack in between some chapters.
> 
> link to aff if anyone's interested :  
> https://www.asianfanfics.com/story/view/1014639/what-a-beautiful-mess-this-is

Kyungsoo groans when he glances at his bedside table and sees the clock, offensive red light blinking _8:09_. _Shit shit shit, not again._ He hops out of bed and runs directly to the bathroom, stripping along the way and chooses to leave his clothes strewn across the wood floor. Running late for the third time in a row is more of a concern than his mess of an apartment, because his boss had vowed to cut his balls off if he did. It’s Mr. Lee’s easy-going, refined manner at work that lends a significant amount of weight to threats like this and Kyungsoo rather wanted to keep his manhood intact.

He washes in record time, although he thinks there are still suds fizzling behind his ears. When he has time he’ll rinse that part at the office but right now, he hurriedly changes into his worksuit, grabs his bag, swinging it onto his shoulder as he puts on his socks and shoes and runs runs _runs_.

\----------------

Kyungsoo manages to arrive at the office and clocks in with a few minutes to spare, which he spends slumped down at his desk trying to catch his breath.

“Glad you made it, but Jesus, Kyungsoo did you even brush your hair? You look like shit and the meeting’s about to start.” A black comb is thrust under his nose and he obliges, running it through his hair a few times and looks up, face silently asking.

“Gazillion times better.”

“Thanks Baek.” He hands the comb back and stands up, grabbing a few files on his desk before the duo head to the conference room.

“Here.” Baekyun is holding out a brown paper bag which Kyungsoo takes, humming gratefully because he already knows what’s inside.

“You are a real life saver,” he says, taking the bagel out of the bag and biting into it, his eyes growing larger when he tastes “Cream cheese! Baek, you know I love you right?” he manages to say through a mouthful of bread and Baekyun cringes taking a step away.

“Gross dude! Stop spitting at me, I just reapplied,” he grumbles, motioning to his face. Kyungsoo promptly closes his mouth, not really offended because he knows how overly dramatic Baekyun gets when his eyeliner is involved. 

The meeting lasts way into the afternoon, dissecting a new account the company is set to acquire and by the time it ends, everyone knows it’ll be a couple of months of skipped breakfasts, all-nighters and considerable stress to look forward to until they land it.

When Kyungsoo gets home that night, the first thing he notes when he enters his apartment is the smell. It’s not just from one identifiable source but a collection of odors emanating from the dirty dishes piled in the sink to the trash bin filled with an assortment of takeout boxes to the lumps of used clothes scattered throughout the apartment. Cleaning is the obvious solution but is not even a viable choice right now because he’s beyond exhausted, the beginnings of a migraine pulsing in his head, and he expects it to worsen in the coming months.

So he plops down on his couch (after shoving a few shirts out of the way) and studies the alternatives:

One: continue living like slob and hope that whatever’s moving under a pile of shirts in the far corner of the living room is not some type of rodent;

Two: trade off sleep with making time to clean the apartment and end up missing his nuts for when his boss cuts them off when he shows up late for work again;

Three: hire a kindly, middle-aged cleaning lady who’ll treat him like a second son and maybe bake him muffins and cookies and all those yummy delights elderly ahjummas seem to magically whip up from scratch. 

As he lies there, eyes getting heavy with sleep (he’s decided long ago that sleep always trumps showering), he thinks _yeah, option three sounds about right._

\----------------

He’s right about that migraine when it’s only the middle of the week and he’s up to his eyeballs with work, a dull pain throbbing at his temples. Even so, he manages to snag a few minutes to search for available cleaning services online. An hour later Kyungsoo finds one relatively near his place and takes a moment to scan over the site’s terms and conditions, before he fully decides that yes, this might just be what he’s looking for and sends an email. Customer service is a breeze, with a few short emails he’s confirmed for an appointment on Saturday to meet one of the ‘sanitation staff’ (he snorts at how fancy that sounds) to inspect his apartment before giving him a cost estimate. Kyungsoo can already imagine his apartment soaked in the smell of freshly baked treats as he promptly goes back to work.

\----------------

The toaster dings and Kyungsoo moves to grab the toast, holding it between his teeth as he struggles to put his jacket on. In approximately ten minutes, his future housekeeper will drop by and he tries not to be embarrassed at his mess of an apartment. He just hopes it won’t cost him an arm to have it taken care of.

He’s looking for a pair of clean socks when the doorbell rings. He manages to put one on and hops toward the door, opening it while hunching over his other foot. He calls out a cheerful “Good morning madam--“ but the rest of the words die down in his mouth and he straightens up because this isn’t an elderly lady. A guy is equally staring back at him, but unlike Kyungsoo, there’s a faint smile on his face, his hair slightly disheveled, bangs falling gently over his eyes, and definitely unlike Kyungsoo, he looks gorgeous in just a white shirt and blue jeans, well-worked chest visible through his top.

“Uh...” Kyungsoo starts, peering outside his door and glancing around. “You with someone? Mom? Aunt? Sister?” He looks back at him then, expectant, and the guy looks momentarily confused.

“The agency sent me. I was assigned this unit. Are you Mr…” He looks down on the small pad in his hands, “Do Kyungsoo?”

“You’re here to clean my apartment?” Kyungsoo can’t help sounding unconvinced.

“That’s right Mr. Do,” he answers with a curt nod.

“But you’re so…" _fucking hot_ "young. You look really young.” Kyungsoo visibly swallows.

“Oh! I’m actually older than I look but I’ll take that as a compliment.” The guy laughs, boyish and bright and _shit_ Kyungsoo wasn’t ready for it.

“My name is Kim Jongin by the way," he says and bows quickly. "May I come in?”

He nods dumbly, moving aside to let him in. Kyungsoo pauses at the door for a few seconds, because his brain is screaming a constant loop of _what the hell_ and _are you kidding me_ and _he’s exactly my type_ and _can he even bake?_ and he needs it to shut up because he’s a working professional for christ’s sake, not some pre-pubescent high school girl.

He follows Jongin as he steps into his living room, looking around curiously. “Cool! You collect manga too? Maybe we can trade sometime.” Jongin flashes him that smile again and Kyungsoo answers “Y-you too?” a little too excitedly. His brain is screaming again, high pitched and annoying cries of _oh my god he thinks I’m cool_ _we have something in common!_ and his hands shoot up to massage his temples.

Finally he looks up to see Jongin reaching to grab one manga off the bookshelf and Kyungsoo’s eyes land on the way his shirt hikes up, exposing a bit of skin and uncovering the shape of his ass through his jeans, and his mouth goes dry.

Kyungsoo thinks then with painful certainty that yes, he is indeed absolutely fucked.


	2. Chapter 2

It’s a challenge for Kyungsoo to tear his eyes away from Jongin’s ass but he manages, albeit hesitantly. Instead, he moves to the table to clear out his used plates and suddenly remembers his manners. “Shit, I’m being rude. You want something to drink?”

He goes to the fridge before Jongin can answer. Scanning the contents, he calls over, “I have water. And milk.” He picks up the carton and crinkles his nose when he sees it's eight days past the expiration date. “Nope, only water,” he amends, adding the carton to the bulging pile in his trash can. Something catches his eye at the far end of the bottom shelf. Squatting down, he murmurs to himself how a bottle of cranberry juice could have possibly ended up in there. “And cranberry juice.”

He stands to find Jongin leaning against the doorway, looking clearly amused and Kyungsoo is granted a full view of his frame, all broad-shoulders, narrow hips with legs for days. He’s struck again by how attractive Jongin is and Kyungsoo feels uneasy all of a sudden. “So uh, what’ll it be?”

“You don’t really have to. But juice is fine.” Kyungsoo grabs a glass and notes that its one of only three left that’s still clean. He places it on the dining table and motions for Jongin to sit as he pulls a chair for himself. “Sorry for scheduling this early, but I still have work in approximately…” Kyungsoo squints at the clock hanging on the opposite wall, “forty-five minutes. So we’ll have to hurry this up”.

“It’s fine, sir.” He sits down and takes a swig of juice before picking out a white folder from his messenger bag, ruffling through the contents. The way Jongin is licking at his lips, tongue lingering at the corner for a few seconds, makes Kyungsoo wonder if that tongue could be good for anything else. _Fucking get a grip you pervert_ and with that he stares at an empty spot on the table, praying to the high heavens that he’s not blushing like a tomato. He hears a soft “aha” as Jongin finally pulls out a couple of sheets and hands it over.

“This basically reflects all the options you checked on the website with the added services you requested, the terms and conditions, security clauses and the total fee is shown at the bottom.” Kyungsoo scans over the document but the niggling feeling in his stomach has him blurting out “I’m sorry… Jongin was it? ... you look fresh out of high school. Can you really manage all of this?” waving his hands to the entirety of his apartment.

Jongin takes a breath, seemingly exasperated. He runs a hand through his hair before he replies. “Well like I mentioned before, I look younger than my age. Lucked out on the gene pool maybe. I might even be older than you.”

“I’m twenty-six.”

“Oh,” he looks surprised but his voice is even when he answers, “I’m a year younger but it’s close enough. The point is I’m highly trained by the company and to answer your question, yes I can handle it. I take my job very seriously.”

“Not that I’m doubting your skills but see, this apartment is a complete dump.”

“I can handle it.” He repeats, tone firm and maybe a bit irritated.

“Fine,” Kyungsoo pacifies. He’s intrigued by how different Jongin looks now, face taut, all serious and businesslike, a complete contrast to the boyishly charming man he met at the door. “In that case, I apologize. For all this. But in my defense, conditions at work is responsible for turning me into a gigantic slob.”

Jongin’s face lightens and he chuckles a bit. “Not a problem. The company does not judge nor criticize living conditions. Honestly I’ve seen worse, yours is perfectly manageable.”

Kyungsoo feels a little shy again so he turns his attention back to the contract he’s holding, trying to recall what else he requested in his emails. Scanning over the document, his stomach unceremoniously flips when he sees it. _Crap_.

“Y-you’ll be doing the laundry?” 

“Absolutely, sir. I’m assigned to this unit so I’m bound by all the conditions stated in the service contract,” he says matter-of-factly.

Jongin’s hands on his smelly clothes _,_ his _dirty cartoon-laced underwear,_ and Kyungsoo is horrified. Something must have flashed on his face because Jongin quickly adds “I’m fully capable of handling laundry. My mom can attest to that. You can call her if you--"

It dawns on him that Jongin has mistaken his embarrassment for skepticism and Kyungsoo gracelessly snorts. Waving a hand out, he stops him mid-sentence, “No, it’s fine. If you’re uh… mom-certified, then it’s good enough for me. My underwear is off-limits though.” Jongin sighs in relief, smiling despite himself and Kyungsoo can’t help but be drawn to it again, thinking _how can someone be so goddamn cute._

“So you’ll be here every Saturday? I’ll leave the key at the reception if I’m not in, which I guess would be often. Just give it back when you’re done.” Kyungsoo signs the papers with a flourish and hands it back to Jongin whose nodding in agreement.

“May I direct your attention to the security clause in paragraph eight,” he points toward the bottom part of the contract, and continues, “It basically ensures the safety of your belongings, otherwise the company will be held liable for any loss, damage or theft. The company values your safety,” he recites, eyes trained in the air as if he’s reading from it.

Kyungsoo doesn’t hide how impressed he is and Jongin just shrugs at him, adding sheepishly, “I memorized it.”

He has no words for how adorable he finds Jongin at that moment so instead Kyungsoo reminds him that he still to go to work and tells him that the bill will be settled online. In turn, Jongin gives him the company card with his name and work number in case he has any more questions.

They walk to the door and after he puts on his shoes, Jongin says in all seriousness, “Thank you, sir. At Kim’s Housekeeping, your mess is our mission” and takes a bow.

Kyungsoo grins at him and blurts out _“So cute”_ before he can stop himself. When Jongin straightens up, his face is impossibly blank, and Kyungsoo panics as he feels a blush creep up his neck and to his face. “I-I mean, your tagline. It’s cute, not you.”

Jongin lifts an eyebrow at this. “No, you're cute b-but that wasn’t-- It’s not what I meant, I-- I’m running late.” And he promptly opens the door and flails at the other to step out. “Okay bye,” he says and shuts the door right in Jongin’s bewildered face.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> awkward Kyungsoo is my guilty pleasure, haha 


End file.
